I enjoyed this story. While I didn't go through anywhere near the same thing, I never did use my PhD in sociology by going into academia. First it was journalism, then graphic design, then UX design. I actually wanted to drop out of grad school but Mom pressured me to stay. My biggest regret has nothing to do with career but with real estate. That's another story I wrote about a couple of years ago.

Great to read of how things turned out positively!